Stranded
by i-ate-the-biscuit
Summary: Gold and Belle are on the same plane when it crashes in the middle of nowhere.
1. Chapter 1

If Milah had just listened to him. If she'd just let him take Bae to Storybrooke instead of spending the holidays at their house in New York. But no, she had insisted. She'd made enough of an effort already, couldn't afford to let Bae fly, didn't want to let him fly alone, and so on and so forth. She was an expert at making excuses, and once again he'd fallen for it.

That was the reason he'd been on that damn plane. And coincidentally, also the reason he was now on a beach, soaking wet, with a large piece of metal sticking out of his leg and a stone prodding into his back while a beautiful young woman kneeled beside him.

Story of his life.

''I told him. I fucking told him we should have taken the 7 o'clock flight, but no. ''If we fly early we get a whole extra day in New York, Belle. We'll have less stress when we're travelling, Belle. Why do you never listen to me, Belle.'' Well, this is fucking why.'' The woman muttered as she tore a strip of fabric off her shirt. ''Keep still, you're making it worse.'' She snapped.

Gold froze immediately, biting his lip in pain. In any other circumstances, he'd have told the woman (Belle, if her monologue was any indication) she was beautiful. He may have even asked her out to dinner. She looked like she was able to hold an intelligent conversation. But now, as she lifted his leg and pulled the strip of fabric around it tightly, he was a little scared. She seemed to be able to kill someone, which was ironic since she was trying to save his life and his leg. Not that he'd miss the leg, it'd brought him nothing but trouble, but amputation didn't seem to be an option given the current circumstances.

''Great. That was as far as my high school first aid classes went. Any suggestions?'' Belle asked, running her hand through her hair and looking perilously close to a breakdown, though still capable of murder. Gold wracked his brain, but for the life of him he couldn't remember anything. He looked down, noting the metal didn't seem to be embedded into his flesh too deep. About an inch, maybe two, if he was unlucky.

''Alright, Belle? See if the fates favour us and look for anything that might be useful as a bandage.'' He suggested. She nodded, tears threatening to overflow, and walked away from him, scouring the parts of the wreckage that had reached the shore. He hoped she'd have the good sense not to look at the many bodies, because he was quite keen on surviving and she seemed to give him his best chance. He didn't want her breaking down. He felt around in his jacket, breathing a sigh of relief as he found the flask containing expensive whiskey he'd bought in duty-free. He hated to see it wasted like this, but it seemed he had no other choice. It was the closest to a disinfectant he was going to get.

Belle was back before he knew it, dropping a small suitcase beside him. ''This was all I could find, I doubt it's useful.'' She told him, frustrated and scared at the same time, as she flipped the case open. In it were a few brightly-coloured garments and a bag of toiletries. The case had kept everything dry. Her eyes suddenly hopeful, she unzipped the bag. A toothbrush, shampoo, some tampons and pads fell out. ''I'm sorry.'' She whimpered, sagging down. ''There's nothing else, it's all gone.''

Gold forced a smile, no longer scared she'd take the shard and force it into his chest. ''We'll have to make do. See if there's any trousers or leggings in there, will you, Belle? We need to get the metal out.''

Belle nodded, digging through the pile of clothes as Gold unwrapped tampons and pads with unsteady fingers. ''What the hell are you doing?'' Belle asked, confused.

''It absorbs blood, it's sterile, and it's the best we have. I can deal with having a tampon in my leg for a while.'' He snapped, more aggressively than he meant it. She pulled hot-pink jeans, a pair of long socks and some leggings with skulls on them out of the suitcase. He took a deep, steadying breath before continuing. ''You're going to pull out the metal. As soon as you get it out, I'm pouring on the alcohol. It's going to hurt me, so don't hesitate and put in the tampons as fast as you can. I'll put on the pad and then you're going to wrap the fabric around it as tightly as you can, understood?'' He said, holding her gaze. God, her eyes were beautiful. She looked away, swallowing a sob.

''I can't do this. I was going to New York for a weekend off, I can't fucking do this.'' She whispered, covering her mouth with her hands. Gold shifted, holding in a shout of pain, so he could put his hand on her leg. He tried to look as reassuring as he could.

''You have to, Belle. For all we know, we're the only two who survived. We need each other, we won't survive alone. You're not dying on a beach in the middle of the ocean, and neither am I.'' He sounded braver than he felt, trying to hold back his own fear. He laid back as Belle gave him a shaky nod. ''Whenever you're ready.'' He told her.

She didn't warn him before she pulled out the shard with a little more force than was strictly necessary and he grimaced before remembering the whiskey. Clenching his jaw, he poured it into the wound, making it feel like it was on fire. The next few minutes passed in a blur of pain and frenzy. When he could finally bring up the courage to pay attention to his surroundings again, he found himself with a clumsy and wildly colourful bandage around his leg. It didn't look pretty, but it did the job. He'd gotten used to dealing with pain over the years, so he tried to stuff it down, succeeding to a degree. He looked over at Belle, who had finally given in to her emotions. She was in the sand, curled up into a ball as she sobbed. He manoeuvred himself so he was lying next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. ''Thank you.'' He whispered quietly, not sure what to do. She wasn't exactly as easy to comfort as Bae, who was still at the age where one forgot most things at the sight of something loaded with sugar.

He hadn't expected Belle to react to him. He suspected she wanted to be left alone with her grief (she'd mentioned a him, hadn't she? A boyfriend? Fiance? Oh God, did she lose her husband?). Maybe he expected her to shake off his touch, at the most. He hadn't expected her to curl into him, burying her head against his chest. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her, comforting her to the best of his ability. He rubbed small circles on her back. She smelled like blood, his blood, he realised. She had a few cuts and bruises but seemed mostly alright. The thought brought him some relief.

''It'll be okay, Belle. We're going to get through this.'' He promised. Then he remembered Bae, and all his self-control went to Hell as he cried with her.


	2. Chapter 2

Milah ran past the mirror in the hallway, doubling back to inspect the collar of her white shirt. ''Bollocks.'' She hissed, wiping at the red stains in vain. She'd learnt a valuable lesson today: never eat pasta with your six-year-old when they're excited. She darted into her room quickly, pulling the shirt over her head and scouring her small closet for something else to wear. She knew her bastard of an ex was going to look nothing less than perfect when he got off that fucking plane after hours in a pressurized cabin, and she wasn't about to look inferior. Sighing deeply, she pulled out a purple v-neck sweater. It'd have to do.

She was grateful Gold was coming to spend the holidays with Bae, really, she was. The boy loved him, and she wouldn't deny him time with his father. She just hated how he looked at her like Bae deserved better, like she wasn't good enough for him. He was an unpleasant man at best, and she never saw his best anymore. He didn't care about anything except Bae getting the best in every aspect of his life. He'd paid for him to go to a high-profile private school on the Upper East Side, and she's only allowed that because she knew the school around the corner wasn't exactly a stimulating place for young children. She hated the small apartment they rented for too much money, but she hadn't taken up on his offer of a nicer place (or at least one where the neighbours didn't own dogs that barked through the night when they weren't fed, which was more often than she cared to admit). She loved Bae, but she didn't want his father's charity. She could take care of herself, and of her son.

She smiled as Bae called to her from the living room, where she'd stationed him in front of their small tv to watch the news. What on earth had gotten into the boy when he decided that instead of Clifford the Big Red Dog or something similar he wanted to watch the news before bed, she had no idea, but he found it interesting so she let him watch.

''Mama, there's a plane on tv!'' He yelled.

''That sounds lovely, honey! Go and put on your shoes, we're going to be late to pick up papa!'' She replied, slipping on some pumps and pulling her bag off its hook.

''But it is papa's plane!'' Bae told her as she walked in the room, searching for her keys.

''I'm sure it is, honey. Come on, we don't have all...'' She froze as she watched the newsreader speak in a calm voice.

''... it is said the plane lost all contact fifteen minutes into the flight, but nothing has been confirmed by authorities. We ask anyone living on the route the plane was set to take to look out for it, any tips can be valuable. You can call the number at the top of the screen with any tips. Information is slim at the moment, but we're doing everything we can...'' Milah zoned out as she saw Gold's flight number roll along the bottom of the screen. She pulled her phone out of her bag, rooted to the ground, and punched in a number quickly, her throat suddenly feeling eerily tight. Thankfully, it was answered quickly.

''Milah! Did you hear about the plane going missing? Things are crazy here right now, I think I'll be home late tonight. They're already asking people to go to the crash site when it's found, it'll be a right bloodbath...''

Milah cut in sharply. ''Killian. I need you to get here as quick as you can. You need to watch Bae so I can get to the airport and find out what the hell is going on.''

''Sure.'' A confused voice answered. ''Why, what's wrong?''

Milah took a deep breath, turning off the tv so Bae wouldn't hear more. ''Gold is on that plane.''

Gold tried to smile at Belle as she returned with a long wooden stick, but it came out more as a grimace. His leg felt like it was being chewed on by a shark, but it wasn't bleeding anymore. He'd survive, or at least he hoped he would. ''Thank you.'' He told her, taking the stick and testing it out for strength. Satisfied, he leaned on it heavily, glad for the support.

''I need to find Gary. I need to know he's still alive.'' Belle told him. They'd held each other for hours, and he was sure he'd slept for some of it. It was a good thing he had, he'd need his strength. Belle looked a little better. Her hair was a mess and her skin was still blotchy from crying, but she was doing as well as could be expected.

He nodded silently, not telling her he thought the chances of them finding her... her Gary alive were pretty slim. Bodies were strewn everywhere, face-down in the sand or sitting against rocks with loved ones slumped against them. Some had died at sea, he knew, but some had made it this far. No further, though. He watched Belle carefully as she inspected the bodies. ''What does he look like?'' He asked gently.

''Black hair, short, built like a football player.'' She told him. ''He was wearing one of those stupid I love New York t-shirts, you know, the overpriced ones they sell to tourists. I told him to change, we weren't even there yet, but he wouldn't listen. That can't be the last thing I said to him.'' Tears were welling up in her eyes. She looked up at Gold as he took her hand.

''Don't think about it, okay?'' He said quietly, smiling gently.

She sighed, nodding. ''He's my best friend. I don't want him to have died in a plane crash.'' Gold led her along the beach for close to an hour, occasionally looking up against his better judgement, hoping somebody may have come to find them. It was past noon already, judging by the sun, and if nobody found them they'd have to find somewhere to spend the night.

Belle's voice, full of sorrow, cut through the silence between them like a knife. ''He's not here.'' She said sharply.

''We haven't looked everywhere yet. We can look again, if you want.'' Gold offered feebly.

Belle shook her head, biting her lip. ''No. I can't see it anymore. A while back there was a mother, and she had this baby...'' She looked away, swallowing thickly. ''They're all dead. And they're going to rot here. Nobody deserves that.''

Gold closed his eyes at the mention of a baby. Even thinking of Bae was too much, never mind imagining his boy broken on the sand like the ones at his feet... A little girl lay close by, she couldn't have been older than four, her face frozen in a silent scream. She probably hadn't slept the night before because she was so excited about going to New York. When he thought back, he could almost remember her dragging her father to the gate, bouncing up and down as they boarded... And now that was all gone. And somewhere, someday, her family would go to a funeral with a closed casket because her body would be out to the elements and look hideous when found.

''The children.'' He spoke suddenly. Belle stared at him, confused.

''What about them?''

''We have to get them somewhere safe. I can carry the youngest, I'm used to carrying things with a cane, you get the older ones. Please, Belle, if this was my Bae I'd want someone to protect him.'' He looked at her pleadingly, knowing she wouldn't take much convincing. She'd seen the same things he had, she knew what he was feeling. After a few seconds she nodded.

''Where do we take them?'' She asked matter-of-factly.

He looked around, spotting a large, flat stone sticking out of the sand. ''There.'' He pointed. ''It'll protect them from sun and rain.''

She nodded again, walking over to the little girl and cradling her in her arms carefully. Gold was quite sure he had never seen a sadder sight than this 20-something-year-old carrying a little girl's corpse. He was quite sure he never would again. Pulling every bit of courage he had left out, he went to find the baby Belle had been talking about. Her mother had died protecting her, he was not going to let that be in vain.

Hours later, he sat with the children, watching Belle as she brought over the last boy. He looked about 10, and his resemblance to Bae was astounding. With every child they had found the lump in his throat had gotten larger, now finally feeling as if it was choking him. Belle carefully laid the boy in the shadow, stroking back his hair and wiping sand from his shirt. ''You're going to be alright.'' She whispered, knowing full well it was a lie, that any chance of any of them being alright died with him.

Gold said nothing as Belle slumped down next to him, leaning into his side. His arm slid around her easily, rubbing her shoulder for comfort, both hers and his. ''Your son.'' She said quietly. ''Bae. He wasn't...'' She trailed off, letting him fill in the blanks. He was grateful she did. He didn't want to think about the possibility.

''I was going to visit him for the holidays. He lives with his mother, you see, so I don't get to see him too often. No, he's safe.'' The thought calmed him somewhat, that no matter what happened here, how long it took for them to be found, if ever, Bae would be safe with his mother. He knew she'd take care of him, as much as he hated to admit it.

He sat with Belle in silence as the sun slowly sank closer and closer to the horizon. He knew they'd need to find shelter soon, especially with the dark clouds looming at the edge of their vision, but for now this was safe. He knew this beach now, and he knew Belle. He was scared of what the coming days would bring, even if he wouldn't tell her.

''We're going to be okay, aren't we?'' She asked in a small voice. In that moment, she sounded so young, so innocent, that he would have wrapped her up and held her close to keep her safe. But he couldn't. So instead he just leant his head on hers and pulled her a little closer.

''Yes.'' He whispered. ''We are.''


End file.
